Semiconductor wafers may be manufactured using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. In such a process, the silicon structure of a typical semiconductor wafer is built-up using Silane (SiH4) and semiconductor properties are created by interstitially depositing elements such as Arsenic and Phosphorous. The sources for these elements, commonly called doping agents, may be the hydrides Arsine (AsH3) and Phosphine (PH3). These doping agents are pyrophoric and toxic. Therefore, the doping agents are scrubbed away when the semiconductor wafers are evacuated from a CVD reactor.
In addition to the above, semiconductor wafers may be subjected to Chemical Mechanical Processing (CMP) during fabrication. After such a process is performed, contaminants may remain on the wafer. Like the doping agents, these contaminants may be scrubbed away prior to further semiconductor wafer processing steps.
In order to remove the doping agents or the contaminants, a scrubber tool may be employed. The conventional scrubber tool generally cleans and/or dries the semiconductor wafer using a high speed spin process. The high speed spin process may involve spinning the wafer at, for example, about 2,400 revolutions per minute (rpm). Unfortunately, the high speed spin process tends to induce charge in the wafer, which may lead to wafer damage. In addition, the high speed spin process makes precisely controlling a water spray difficult. This may lead to a low particle clean rate.
Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.